He simply kept up the maddening teasing. His fingers traced heat into the flesh of her breasts, but he went nowhere near the puckered circles that tingled in their centers, squeezing and hurting for his touch.
“I’m gonna let that outburst slide, because you followed it up so sweetly,” he stated. “Do not unlock those hands, S. Use the stance to help yourself focus, to give me the words. Tell me what you’re feeling, my heart. Say it.”
“Are you kidding me?” She couldn’t help it. The pressure was loaded so damn high, pushing at her nipples with tormenting need, and it was his doing. “God, Garrett, can’t you tell? Frustrated. I’m frustrated, okay? I feel trapped, and helpless, and—and you won’t do what I want you to. What I need you to!”
She averted her eyes, now getting to pile awkward and embarrassed onto that heap of adjectives. Exasperated and enraged joined the list when Garrett moved his hands back in, framing her face completely with them, forcing her stare back up to his.
“Now you’re getting a glimpse of how I felt when Sage took on King’s guards all by herself.”
She dropped her jaw. That’s what this was all about? “I…I was trying to save our asses!”
“We’re not discussing you. We’re discussing Sage. Who was naked and unarmed.”
“Not for very long.”
“A pair of whips doesn’t count as armed, damn it.”
“It worked, didn’t it?”
His fingers curled into her scalp again and he growled. It wasn’t his usual mountain lion growl, either. This sound belonged to Bigfoot, or something worse. Scratch that; it was worse. The rumble didn’t just resonate with a big dose of angry. It vibrated with pain. And yes, fear. He was battling to hide that part from her, but she saw it flashing through the smokescreen in his gaze too. She’d terrified him that night with her daredevil move. Yes, it was the step that swung the advantage their direction, but it very well could’ve been the stunt that got her killed.
Her gut twisted, followed soon by her heart. He really had been a knuckle-dragging, overbearing beast since they’d gotten back, but he’d had damn good reasons for all that chest beating. He was a different creature now, and she had to learn his different sides all over again—just like he had to learn hers. And, quite possibly, just like he’d have to corral in some parts of her beastie side from time to time.
They were learning together. Growing together. And this room was going to give them some of the most fun and sexy ways to do that.
With that conclusion at the forefront of her mind, she dipped her head and gave her Master a resigned nod. “You’re right. It might have worked, but that didn’t make it the sanest action plan.”
Garrett inched closer. He kissed the top of her head. “Thank you. I accept that, as well as the sweet sincerity with which you gave it. Now”—he lowered both hands to her breasts again, though this time he thumbed both nipples with enough pressure to make her sob—“you’re going to accept my discipline for it too.”
She thought about protesting. Part of her wanted to. Her heart had seriously been in the right place. The trouble was, her head hadn’t been. One more factor led to the second soft nod she gave him with her head still lowered. She wanted this. Needed it. Had craved it since the first swat Garrett gave her pussy back in Thailand. She’d spent so damn long making all the decisions, doing all the governing, worrying about her very survival. For a while, she longed to be a little reckless and have someone else call the shots about it—which meant that for a while, they were probably going to be in this room a lot.
She tried not to smile about that.
Just like she tried not to let a few drops of fear sneak into the dutiful response she whispered to Garrett. “Yes, Master. Of course.”
Another low rumble rolled out of him, but this time it was laced with an undertone of anticipation. “Very nice. But you’ll look nicer with those panties off, kneeling naked in the middle of the bed for me.”
Sage moved to obey. With every step she took over to the bed, her mind seemed to ambulate as well, shifting into a zone not reality or fantasy but a surreal place in between. The fog of the headspace was only thickened by the ethereal music Garrett had plugged into the sound system’s speakers, a dreamy melody backed by a throbbing, blatantly sexual dance beat. Almost instantly, the depths of her body responded to it, coiling on themselves to squeeze out more drops of anticipation into her tight channel, her pouting pussy lips.
“Are you ready, S?”
She let out a soft laugh, hoping he didn’t take it the wrong way. “Hell yes, Master.”
“What’s your safe word, S?”
She laughed louder, unable to help it. “Cauliflower, Master.”
“Is something funny, S?”
Her nervousness spiraled into a moment of punchy stupidity. “I don’t know, Master. Is something funny?”
Hell. She was going to regret that. He confirmed that the next second, grabbing her hair and twisting it hard. She whimpered as he yanked her head back, positioning her for his plunging, devouring, tongue-tangling kiss. When he finally let her go, he kept her jaw captive for a moment longer, letting her fast gasps twine with his heavy breaths. Sage pushed toward him again, yearning for another kiss, but he yanked his hand away in order to grab one of her wrists, pulling it directly over her head.
Trepidation did a fast trample on her desire as he secured a leather cuff around her wrist and then hooked the restraint in place with a distinct clink of a carabiner hook. He climbed onto the bed behind her before doing the same thing to her other wrist.
She was strung up for him now. Literally. With her arms locked over her head and her legs curled at the knee and pressed against him, she wouldn’t be scrambling out of this anytime soon.
Her heart pounded against her ribs in time to the fuck-friendly music.
But as she listened to Garrett readying numerous toys behind her, she had a feeling that a little of her Dom’s fun was coming before the fucking.
She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. Another.
He stole the calming effect of both gulps when he fitted his mouth against her ear and his hands circled around to tug hard at her nipples once more. “So, S’s tits are begging for a little attention tonight, yeah?”
She licked her lips and replied, “Yes, Master.”
“That’s damn fortunate, because I was thinking that S’s nipples need to share Sage’s punishment tonight. After all, they were naughty during that escapade in Medina, too.”
“Uh…yes, Master.”
She was happy she got that out, because her voice said a scared-shitless sayonara again in the next second. Garrett had dropped his finger teases on her nipples for a moment, only to bring his hands back bearing new toys for them. Okay, the clover clamps weren’t exactly new. He’d brought them home a few nights ago, excited about the possibilities of controlling how much tension he could deliver to her nipples with a tug of the string attached to each clamp. Sage had barely made it through one tiny pull on each string before pleading with Garrett to take the clamps off. The bastard’s smooth humming made it clear that he remembered every moment of that too—and planned on taking full, erotic advantage of the information.
Keeping up with his quiet control, Garrett stretched out her left nipple. The pleasure of his fingers on her skin almost outweighed the dread of knowing what was about to come.
“Ready?” he asked.
Oh, shit.
“Yes, Mas—owwww!”
He didn’t let her prepare for the right clamp. It didn’t matter anyway. Her breasts were turned into a pair of squeezed, stinging pinpoints, dominating every breath she took as Garrett turned and readied other playthings in the space she couldn’t see directly behind her. Sage winced. Oh, yay. More toys.
“Breathe through it, sugar,” he finally said. “They’re going to be on for a while.”
“Crap!” she snapped. “Why?”
His reply was a hard pair of spanks, one on each ass cheek. She let out a high yelp as her ass flared with fire. At the same time, the clamps swung on her nipples, pulling the flesh in tormenting new ways.